Page 16 of Mr. Darcy's Storm of Temptation

Mrs. Gardiner reached over and patted her hand sympathetically. "The time will pass quickly, my dear."

Elizabeth managed a small smile, though her heart already ached with missing him. Two weeks felt like an eternity, but she would endure it. She had his ring, his promise, and the memory of his kiss to sustain her.

Soon, she told herself. Soon he would come to Longbourn, speak to her father, and then nothing would keep them apart.

7

Elizabeth had been homeat Longbourn for barely a week, spending her days in happy anticipation of Mr. Darcy's visit, when catastrophe struck. She was in the garden with Jane, telling her sister everything about the engagement, when their mother's wails brought them running.

"We are ruined! Utterly ruined!"

Mr. Bennet stood in the parlor, a letter in his hand, his face grave. "Lydia has eloped from Brighton. With Mr. Wickham."

Mr. Wickham! Elizabeth gasped as the shock of the name, the revelation, hammered her heart. The man who had tried to elope with Georgiana for her fortune. The man who had slandered Mr. Darcy throughout Hertfordshire. The charming deceiver who left debts and broken hearts wherever he went. And now he had her youngest, silliest sister.

"They left three days ago," Mr. Bennet continued, his voice hollow. "Supposedly for Gretna Green, but Colonel Forster believes they went to London instead. He doubts any marriage is intended."

Elizabeth's mind raced. Without marriage, Lydia would be utterly ruined. The scandal would taint them all. No respectable man would align himself with such a family.

Mr. Darcy.The thought struck her like lightning. Yes, he had proposed, and yes, she had accepted. But they had not made a formal announcement. And she could not force him to tie himself to her shame. His honor would insist that he keep his vow, but the scandal would fester between them. It would ruin their happiness as surely as Longbourn's entailment and her parents' vastly different personalities had ruined theirs.

Elizabeth spent a sleepless night wrestling with her conscience. By morning, she knew what she must do.

"I must go to London immediately," Mr. Bennet said wearily at breakfast.

Within the hour, he was gone. Elizabeth immediately went to her room and penned the most difficult letter of her life. She addressed it to Georgiana, hiding the second, true letter sealed inside:

My dearest Fitzwilliam,

The worst has happened. Lydia has run away with Mr. Wickham from Brighton. There is little hope of marriage. You know his character better than anyone. We are ruined.

I release you from our engagement. I could not bear to bring such disgrace to your family, to Georgiana. You must protect your sister and your good name. Please know that I love you and always will, but I cannot allow you to sacrifice everything for me.

Yours eternally, Elizabeth

She sent it express, using her pin money, then collapsed on her bed in tears. To have found such happiness only to lose it to Mr. Wickham's villainy was too cruel.

She did not expect a response, or if one came, she expected it to be a formal acceptance of her release. What she received instead, three days later by express, made her sob with relief:

My beloved Elizabeth,

If you think I would abandon you now, you do not know me at all. Mr. Wickham's actions change nothing between us. You are mine, and I am yours, scandal be damned.

I am already on my way to London t0 meet with your uncle Gardiner. I know Wickham's habits, his haunts, his associates. We will find them. I will ensure your sister is married and your family's reputation preserved.

Do not speak of releasing me again. Nothing could induce me to give you up. Not Wickham, not scandal, not all the world's disapproval. We will weather this storm as we will weather all storms: with unity and love.

All my love, F.D.

P.S. Burn this missive. If anyone knew I was in London seeking Wickham, it might complicate matters.

Elizabeth pressed the letter to her chest, sobbing with relief and love. He would not abandon her. Even now, facing the worst scandal possible, he remained constant.

But doubt crept in during the long days that followed. What if he could not find them? What if Mr. Wickham had already ruined Lydia beyond redemption? What if Mr. Darcy realized, oncefaced with the reality of their situation, that he could not marry her after all?

She paced her room at night, tormented by nightmares of receiving a letter saying he had reconsidered. In one particularly vivid dream, she saw him at a ball, dancing with an elegant woman while she stood in disgrace, watching from the shadows.

For almost two agonizing weeks, Elizabeth heard nothing. Mrs. Bennet took to her bed with hysterics. Mary sermonized about the wages of sin. Kitty sulked. Only Jane provided comfort, holding Elizabeth when the anxiety became too much.